What We Learned at the Taliah Waajid Health and Beauty Expo

The Taliah Waajid World Health and Beauty Expo was like naturalista heaven. Last weekend at the Times Square Marriott Marquis, there were natural hair product companies left and right including Shea Moisture, the Jane Carter Solution and Jamaican Mango and Lime. YouTube natural hair vlogger Toni Daley was also in the mix selling handmade accessories and hair garbs.

Besides hosting a fashion and hair show, there were also informative workshops about how to maintain your natural hair with an active lifestyle, how to prevent hair loss and even a yoga class. VIBE Vixen attended a workshop about debunking YouTube myths put into their air by YouTube vloggers who don’t have the credentials to educate but decide to anyway. Natural hair stylist Patricia Stephens hosted the info session to school naturals and dispel myths about how to make your hair grow, hair types and much more.

Flip through to see what we learned.

Photo Credit: Jon Ortiz

Hair grows faster when it’s dirty

False: Not true! Stephens says that natural hair goes through growth phases and in order for our hair to grow it has to be clean.

Photo Credit: naturalhair.org

Even if you co-wash, you still must shampoo!

There’s nothing wrong with co-washing but is it really cleaning the hair? Stephens recommends that you shampoo your hair once between every two co-washes. If you keep co-washing and not shampooing it could lead to build up. Remember, conditioner does not clean the hair.

FYI: Overnight deep conditioning is “fabulous.” Cuticle, Cortex and the medulla are the three layers of the scalp. Overnight conditioning allows everything is going into the cortex, which is the outer layer.

Photo Credit: blackgirlonghair.com

If you work out, shampooing is a must!

Stephens suggests that active women shampoo their hair more often. She says co-washing is not the thing for you if you workout regularly due to sweat, buildup and continuously putting products in your hair

P.S: Shampoo can dry your hair out because of a high PH but the conditioner you use brings it down.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Being a product junkie is no bueno.

Stephens says that being a product junkie is not good because you are mixing several ingredients together. Every line of a products is formulated to work together. Stephens says Taliah Waajid’s chemist uses all natural ingredients when making their products but when you’re a product junkie you’re mixing lines of products that do not all use natural things. Mixing products can leave a white film because they do not mix well. She says keep in mind that ingredients can counteract each other.

Photo Credit: naturalhair.org

There is no such thing as 1a 2b, etc.

Hair is fine, medium or coarse and that’s it.

Tight braids make your hair grow and the style last longer.

Tight braids are not a good thing. It does not take a lot of tension for someone to braid your hair, Stephens says. When you’re pulling your hair tightly, it can create traction alopecia, which is when too many of your hair strands are pulled from the follicle and the follicle closes up. Also, hair grows a half an inch a month, so having tight braids are not needed.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Using the same product over time will lose its ability.

Every product line changes their makeup or ingredients on a regular basis. It doesn’t lose its ability. Your hair texture changes every seven years which can cause a product to have a different effect on your hair.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Your hair can be trained.

If you straighten your hair regularly you can physically alter your curl. The Marsha Brady syndrome, aka frequently brushing your hair can loosen your curl but it won’t become straight. Natural hair can only be chemically or physically altered by brushing and straightening the hair.

Photo Credit: Essence.com

Why can white women wash their hair every day and black women cannot?

Your scalp secretes sebum, an oil that lubricates the scalp. White women can wash their hair every day because their hair texture is way looser; therefore, the sebum can get to their ends quicker on their hair. A black woman’s natural hair texture is more curly, which means that the sebum takes a longer time to travel along our curls.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Damaged hair cannot be brought back to life.

If the follicle is destroyed, that hair is not coming back. Many women don’t know that they can have scalp and hair disorders as well and that may be why their hair is damaged.

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Pregnant women can color or relax their hair.

When women color or relax their tresses, only 10 percent of it is going into your system. The main thing to worry about is the fumes that are being inhaled in. The color or the relaxer itself won’t harm you but the fumes will make you sick.

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Forbes' annual list (which factors in pretax earnings from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018) has placed Katy Perry at the top with over $83 million in profits due to her gig as an American Idol judge and her 80-date Witness: The Tour that brought in an estimated $1 million per night.

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Glad to have you back, Ms. Kelly. Listen to the eponymous record up top.